ISLAMABAD – Pakistan government to pay Rs 193 billion continuous subsidy onthe Orange Line Metro Train project.
Rs. 193.556 billion will be paid by the government as a subsidy on theOrange Line Metro Train (OLMT) in the next two decades, starting at Rs.12.72 billion this year.
In this regard, officials have readied a 20-year subsidy report on theOLMT, a mass transit system for Lahore which will be submitted to theprovincial assembly.
On average, around Rs. 9.51 billion will be paid as subsidy annually andthe two decade calculations have been chalked out with aim to keep the fareat Rs. 30. The government will also repay the loan on the project between2024 and 2036.——————————
The provincial government will be handing out Rs. 6.28 billion yearly inthe form of interest on OLMT’s loan on a contract worth $1.62 billion. Thelast government had refused to make the agreement public despite oppositioncalls and even orders from the Auditor General of Pakistan were ignored bythe Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMTA).
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The PMTA has requested Rs. 4 billion to make the OLMT operational and afurther Rs. 2.142 billion will be needed every three months to keep itrunning. For a mobilization advance, Rs. 3.115 billion has been soughtalong with Rs. 679.8 million for electricity, water and sewerage andsecurity.
Syed Uzair Shah, GM of Operations for PMTA said that the transit scheme wasa public welfare project and a Chinese company had been given the tender.In the next 8 years, the firm will be paid Rs. 430 million on a monthlybasis and added that it will help save Rs. 32 billion in terms of vehicleoperating cost and travel time in the first year of its operation.
He further underlined the fact that projects of this nature can repay theircost but due to their nature of public welfare, they have to be subsidized.
